"And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies." – Hebrews 11:32-34
Throughout history God’s people have faced formidable odds in order to realize his promises and accomplish his mission. However, with enduring faith they saw their weaknesses turned to strength.
Zimbabwe has 10 provinces. Our vision is “10 churches in 10 provinces by 2020.” So far we have disciples in six of the 10 provinces. This vision has been challenged by an ailing economy with over 80% unemployment and the subsequent migration of disciples to other countries. Against such formidable odds, last July we had our latest planting in Masvingo.
This planting is unique in that: it is a joint venture between Zimbabwean disciples in the diaspora and the local church. The diaspora disciples contributed money whilst the locals contributed in cash and kind to supply the needs of those in the mission field. Masvingo is also unique in that we asked non-staff disciples to volunteer and “go plant a seed.” They served for periods ranging from a week to several months.
Andrew Choruwa, who has served as campus intern in Harare for three years leads the Masvingo mission. Two people have been baptized in this young church since July last year, Moses in October 2016 and Lovemore in January 2017.
In August this year, God willing we will plant the church in Gwanda, Matabeleland South. This will leave three provinces remaining for 2018 up to 2020, three provinces, three churches in three years. By faith, unity of purpose and perseverance God will help us realize our dream by 2020.
We will also continue to cherish the support given to the existing Zimbabwean churches by the US churches and from the Southern Africa family of churches. The seed is being planted; the fields are ripe for harvest. “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few, therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send forth workers into his harvest field.” We ask all of you to pray for us and our vision 2020; “10 cities, 10 churches.”